White Light in a Black Heart
by AislinShinex
Summary: A vengeful girl discovers friendship and a way to turn her life around. Then she meets Freddy and her disturbing past is uprooted. A new reign of terror has begun when she burns herself and sacrifices her soul to the Devil in an attempt to join Krueger.
1. Prologue

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please do not read this story if you have a weak heart or constitution. You will witness such acts as beheading, mauling, burning, crucifixion, electrocution, and many more bizarre deaths all in horrifying detail. If this is okay with you, please read on. If not, I suggest you not read this piece. There's a big reason it's rated "R" people! Please consider this a fair warning.  
  
Oh, and if ruthless mutilation is really your thing, you'll have to wait around for a few chapters. It doesn't get too messy until the middle of the story. The beginning is pretty calm for all of those fundamental fanfic readers! *wink wink* Rated "R" for strong violence, strong language, strong sexuality, and pretty much strong everything else that's not for children. (Funny thing that it's written by a kid.)  
  
And in case anyone is wondering, this is my first online-posted fic, so please bear with me. Reviews will be VERY much appreciated. Just as a heads-up, this is going to be a LONG fic, so stick with it from beginning to end. Thirteen+ chapters of insane, innovative, interesting, imaginative innocence... psh... yeah right! Thank you and have a nice day!  
  
Prologue  
  
This story tells of a young adult named Fyora. A quiet, shy, simple girl, she never asked for much, yet she never gained a thing. She longed for the parents she could never have, spent endless nights wishing for a nice home to live in, but none of her wishes were ever granted. She owned nothing but her imagination.  
  
Fyora, standing 5' 6" with long, dark hair, had decent beauty that she herself could never see. She cared not for her appearance, nor personality, but merely waited for that fateful day when she could be the master of her own existence. That day finally came on her 16th birthday, when she escaped the trap, and set off into the unknown. She no longer was a part of the system, for her own freedom gave her the right to leave and never return. She did, and without the necessary skills to lead a normal life, fell into despair. The dark pit in which she had dug for herself had only become deeper over time.  
  
She is now older, yet still young enough to change her ways and lead a normal life, but she would never do that. She only saw darkness and never wanted to make it better. Everything was always frightening, evil, and ominous in her eyes. But what the people don't know would change everyone's lives forever. She had a special gift.  
  
She could steal into the mind of any being and control what sick, twisted actions lingered deep within the person's human instinct. With this newfound, extraordinary power, she could have anything her heart desired with one glance of her deep amethyst eyes. But now from the years of torment that never ended, her black heart only yearned for one thing... revenge. Revenge upon the society that cast her out. Revenge upon everyone she had ever come in contact with that treated her any less than human.  
  
She had become a soul so malicious, so mean and utterly ruthless, that she took the lives of everyone into her own hands and wielded them like they were a weapon. The minds of everyone were her own toy to be played with and thrown away once they had served their purpose. All she had thought of was owning the world, and she would stop at nothing until she got her way. For the years until now at the age of 18, she had even killed in cold blood. The number of people she slaughtered for no apparent reason was quite disturbing.  
  
Her supernatural power was unmatched by anything the gods had ever known. She had done the worst by taking advantage of the gifts that were given to her and bent them to do her own evil bidding. It was all her will. She was immortal. Nothing would ever be able to match her.  
  
That is, until one day, when she stumbled upon a girl that didn't treat her like she was a freak. Her name was Lori Campbell, and she lived on 1428 Elm Street. Fyora saw into the mind of this kind, gentle spirit to find something that she had never witnessed before. Lori's friendship was pure and true. A light in Fyora's presumably black heart lit with a fire that she had never known. Amazing how friendship and a little kindness can change a person. She quickly made friends with Lori and found out that they had more in common than they thought, and Fyora's past became overshadowed by a promising future, full of happiness and glory.  
  
What she didn't know was that this future would be anything but happy and much less than glorifying... 


	2. A Nightmare Remembered

"What do you want?" Fyora asked Lori. She noticed she was curiously looking at the book she was reading.  
  
"Oh, nothing," replied Lori. "I was just wondering what you were reading."  
  
"Um," Fyora glanced at the book's cover. "Just a fantasy novel. You know, witches, dragons, that sort of thing. It's always instilled a sense of awe in me."  
  
"Ah," Lori acknowledged with an unsure expression. "That's interesting..."  
  
Fyora rolled her eyes and glared at Lori disappointedly. "Look, it's all right if you're not interested in this kind of stuff. But please, don't pretend you like it when it's obvious that you don't!"  
  
"That's right, you always did prefer truth over courtesy," Lori mentioned, shifting her position on her black leather sofa. "Fyora, I'm so glad you're spending the night tonight. I could really use the company, especially after Kia..."  
  
Fyora looked compassionately at her. "I know you two were the best of friends. I'm sorry that you had to lose her. When did you say she died?"  
  
"Last autumn," Lori replied. "Almost seven months ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. She died trying to save me, but she was murdered by..."  
  
Fyora glanced at her book, as if eager to know the rest of the story, yet not wanting to let Lori know it was a big deal. "Go on," she said hastily.  
  
"Nah," Lori finished. "Don't worry about it. It's in the past, what's done is done. It hurts me to remember... so actually, I try not to think about it."  
  
"Suit yourself," Fyora said, closing her book, though clearly agitated that Lori had just dropped the subject like that. "Listen, I need to go return this book to the library, it's way over due; but I'll be back later, okay? Should take me an hour at most."  
  
"Okay," Lori sighed as Fyora got up to leave. "See ya," she called out.  
  
"Bye," Fyora responded as she closed the front door behind her.  
  
Fyora drove to the library and turned her books in. Before she left, she thought of something. "What is it that Lori didn't want to say? Whatever it was, I'm going to find out!" She walked up to the librarian. "Excuse me," she said. "Where are the books on recent town history?" The librarian simply pointed to the far corner of the building. Fyora was expecting more than a vague direction, but she thanked the librarian and went on her way.  
  
Fyora'd never tell Lori, but she was determined to find out all the secrets of Elm Street. Sooner or later, she was bound to come across something that would reveal clues. She desperately needed to know why no one ever spoke of the events that occurred in that strange place... Lori's own house. After all, it was a famous house, 1428 Elm, but why?  
  
When she searched around the historical reference area of the library, she found an entire shelf against the back wall that was curiously labeled "Local History." She poked around the shelf to see many books of all different colors and sizes. Some were rather dusty, as if no one had ever even touched them, but they all looked normal enough.  
  
She sat on the carpeted floor, randomly pulling out books and skimming through the many pages they owned. She had to lay even lower to comfortable search the bottom shelf. She was now laying on her stomach on the floor, but she hadn't seen anything interesting yet. Just simple, ordinary books.  
  
Suddenly, a shadowy figure rushed past her, sending chills down her spine. She glanced quickly in the direction the shape had gone, but it was nowhere to be found. She thought she was seeing things. In a split second, she felt a cold draft coming from under the shelf. She studied it with curiosity and slowly slid her fingers into two narrow openings on the bottom shelf. She gently began to open it.  
  
To her amazement, she had just discovered a hidden drawer! It was very cool and musty inside, and cobwebs were laced around the corners. She peered in to see what was there. That was the first time she saw it. A dusty old book was laying lifelessly in the drawer. Without a care to whom it belonged to, she grabbed hold of the book and pulled it out. She dusted off the dirty cover to reveal a crimson background and large gold lettering. The title read A Nightmare on Elm Street.  
  
"Elm Street..." Fyora said quietly. "This may just be the book I'm looking for. I think it's actually worth taking a glance at..." She hopped up off the floor and went over to a nearby table. Ever alert, she made sure no one was nearby before sitting down and opening the book. For some odd reason, and she thought it was just her imagination again, the lights grew quite dim as she had opened it to the front page. "Hm, that's quite odd..." she said with uncertainty. She quickly dismissed it.  
  
She flipped through the light brown pages for anything that would draw her attention. It was all written in words that had the same size, same color, same meaningless dribble. That is, until she found a newspaper clipping tucked in between two pages. She curiously picked it up and read the headline out loud, "Dozens of Children Missing; Police Have No Leads." Then she trailed down to a familiar line. "Many of these missing children were residents of the Elm Street area..."  
  
To her great curiosity, there was another clipping attached to the back by a speck of glue. She tore it off and read another headline, "Springwood Slasher Set Free..." Then she read on a littler further. "Suspect accused of kidnapping children put on trial today. Lawyers make fatal mistake, the verdict denied.... Record expunged..." It read a bit more, but that was all she needed to know.  
  
"Hm," she said with a weird tone in her voice. It was apparent she was sort of shaken by the crime of kidnapping children. "Seems like this guy was a real sicko who actually got away with it. Quite admirable, if I do say so, myself. I don't think I could ever do that." Yet among the other horrendous things she had done, murdering children was not one of them. She set the clipping back in the book and flipped through the pages again.  
  
To her even greater curiosity, there was yet another newspaper clipping lying on a page that didn't seem to have any intellectual value. This one struck her as the most curious of all. It was a section of an obituary that had been violently ripped out and shoved into the book. With her jaw hanging agape, she slowly plucked the shredding from the rest of the book. Her eyes grew wide as she saw something that made her blood boil and her skin crawl... it was the name, "Springwood Slasher."  
  
"Fred Krueger, more commonly known as the Springwood Slasher was found dead in a boiler room at an old abandoned factory today. Apparently, he had been burned to death by a fire intentionally started by gasoline poured around the building. While police continue to assure the public that this was merely a suicidal case, the parents of Springwood seemed to be overjoyed by this news. While this suspected child murderer was never convicted, the citizens of Springwood seem to have known what exactly happened to many lost children in Mr. Krueger's boiler room."  
  
After Fyora had finished reading that disturbing piece of news, she just sat there silently for a moment. Pouring over all of the things she had read about this Springwood Slasher. Even though she had done some naughty things in the past, this in no way compared to the things that he had done. Kidnapping children, and then viciously murdering them in a place where their bodies would never be found. For once, in as long a time as she can remember, she actually felt afraid.  
  
"Dark spirits of those who have gone to the Other World always leave behind something to remember them by. I just hope that Krueger has found peace as never wants to return to our side."  
  
By now, she had become fascinated with the readings in that book. She wanted to check it out, but it was in a hiding place. Most likely, it was not for the public to see. She looked around to see if anyone was watching, and then quickly place the book in her knapsack. She got up from the table and hurried along her way.  
  
When she got back to Lori's house, the sun was just beginning to set. She made sure the book was tucked away soundly so Lori wouldn't find it. If she did, Fyora would certainly get a long, annoying talk from her do-gooder best friend. "I'm back!" she called as she walked in and closed the front door behind her. "Sorry it took a little longer than expected. I was looking at some new books that just came in."  
  
Fyora dropped her stuff at the bottom of the stairs and looked around. It was too quiet, and she was sure that Lori had stayed home. "Lori?" she called out to her, but there was no answer. After a few more moments, she began to search the house. "Lori?" she kept calling her name as she made her way past the living room, into the kitchen, through the dining room, and ending up back at the stairs again. She looked up the flight and sighed a deep sigh. She thought Lori must've been in her room, listening to music so loud that she couldn't hear anything else.  
  
With that, she began to climb the stairway and slowly make her ways towards Lori's room. The door was cracked slightly, and there was a light inside. Fyora placed her hand on the door and gently began to open it. "Lori?" she asked. When she opened the door all the way, she saw Lori was there, all right. She was sitting on her bed making out with a guy. Fyora loudly cleared her throat.  
  
Lori whirled around to see her standing in the doorway. "Oh, you're back!" she said with a hint of surprise. "Fyora, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Will."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Will. Sorry if I'm interrupting anything," she said.  
  
"Not at all," Will replied. "We were simply practicing CPR on each other."  
  
Fyora nodded with an unsure smile. She was thinking Who does this guy think I am? I have no problem with them smooching, but he's treating me like I'm Lori's mother! Did he actually think I'd fall for that ridiculous lie? What a creep!  
  
"You took longer than an hour so..." Lori said.  
  
"Okay," Fyora interrupted. "It's okay, I'm just going to go take a bath. I'll leave you two alone." She left the room and stood in front of the closed door. Immediately, she heard them going at it again, and she simply shook her head and sighed. "I wish I could do that..."  
  
Moments later, she was soaking in hot water that came up to her neck. Lori's huge whirlpool tub was Fyora's favorite place to bathe. She deeply sighed and picked up her book, opened it and began to read. It wasn't exactly light reading for relaxation, but she was determined to learn more. "Man," she said and she read on. "This Krueger guy was one sick fuck." She set the book aside and felt herself nodding off...  
  
She closed her eyes for a few seconds only to be jolted awake again by something brushing up against her leg. She reached down towards the contact spot, but nothing was there. As sure as Fyora was known for dismissing things that worried her, she forgot that anything had happened. She closed her eyes and dipped herself all the way underwater. The hot water felt so refreshing on her face. She smiled and opened her eyes... only to find someone staring back at her. She saw a ruddy, crimson, burnt human face with jagged teeth and bloodshot eyes.  
  
Fyora's own eyes grew huge as she screamed with all of the air contained in her lungs. Only masses of bubbles came out of her mouth with a muffled sound. Without hesitating, the figure's right arm came forward, ready to strike her. She made an effort to dodge the blow, but four long blades protruded from the fingers of the figure's hand. All four of them clashed her across the chest and over the top of her breasts. The water quickly became red from the blood that spilled out from her gashes. She closed her eyes and screamed in pain. Never had she felt anything so terrifying in all of her life. She thought she would be prepared to die in case that dreaded day finally came. She felt a cold stab of death surge though her body, yet with all of her preparations, she wasn't ready.  
  
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in the exact same place she had been when she fell asleep. She breathed heavily and frantically looked around. There was no one else, the water was a normal color, a normal depth. Everything was as it was. "Oh my god... I fell asleep. It was only a dream. A horrible nightmare..." she admitted this and finally settled down, letting out a deep sigh of relief. She slowly cast her eyes down and saw something that surprised her. To her sheer amazement, four identical, minuscule scars lay across her chest. They were long, white in color, yet noticeable enough. The funny thing was, she had never remembered getting them in real life. If that horrible vision was just a dream, then where did the scars come from?  
  
In her indecisive and rather forgetful nature, Fyora strode downstairs minutes later and dismissed everything that had happened. "You can either call it my gift or my curse to call off all of my problems so quickly," she said aloud as she reached into her knapsack and took out a long, clear bottle. She went over to the couch and flopped down, enjoying the fuzzy warmth of her fluffy black robe. She unscrewed the top of the bottle and began to drink the Puerto Rican rum that had been saved inside of it.  
  
Just then, Lori appeared in the living room with an astounded look on her face. She glared at Fyora in disbelief. "How could you!?" she confronted her.  
  
"How could I what?" Fyora asked back, unaware what was on her friend's mind (yet she was too tired to actually look).  
  
"Where did you get this?" Lori demanded to know as she held up a book. Fyora quickly recognized it as the book she stole from the library that contained all the information about Fred Krueger and the happenings of Elm Street.  
  
"I borrowed it from the library," she was quick to answer. "What's the big deal? You don't have to freak out about anything." She took another sip of her rum.  
  
"You don't understand," Lori said, trembling with fear. "A Nightmare on Elm Street? Who reads this stuff? I mean, why didn't you come to me? I would've told you everything you needed to know."  
  
"I already asked you!" Fyora exclaimed. "And you never told me about anything in this book. How could you keep something so serious from me? You never told me you lived in the same house as a child murderer!" She was amazed that she had never known this. She had been drawn into Lori's mind many times, but never found any trace of the name Krueger in her head.  
  
"Like I said," Lori repeated in a solemn voice. "I told you everything you needed to know. Nothing more, nothing less." She paused for a moment to gather enough strength to reveal to her best friend the truth. "I've seen him, Fyora. I've met him. Believe me, if I wanted you to see the same things I did, I would have told you everything..."  
  
"Wait, wait," Fyora interrupted, nearly dropping her bottle. Her eyes grew wide with he wonder of a kid in a candy store. "You've actually met him!? You've actually met Fred Krueger?"  
  
"Don't say his name out loud, and yes, I did meet him. He's a despicable creature with a sick mind and an aptitude for killing in unimaginable ways. But that was a long time ago. He's dead, and we have nothing to worry about. It's best just to forget it." She paused and crossed her arms. "I did," she stated matter-of-factly.  
  
"But that book said that Krueger could come back to life!" "I won't hear any more of this! Krueger is dead! I was there... I saw him die." "Holy shit. You... you did?" Fyora asked, rather stupefied.  
  
"Yes, I did. He was brought out into the real world, brought out to fight the one being that could possibly stop him," Lori didn't want to go on. She knew in her own mind that Krueger was gone and would never again haunt the dreams of innocent children. Her only problem was convincing Fyora of it. "I'm sure you read all about that in your book. If you know what's good for you, you'll stop worrying and throw that damn book away. It's all in the past now, my friend."  
  
"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, I'm taking my ass to bed." Fyora got up out of her seat and picked up her rum bottle. She turned to Lori, "You should too. And please tell Will to leave." She trudged off up the stairs.  
  
"What?" Lori asked as she moved to the bottom of the stairs. "He's not here anymore." A few seconds later, she saw Fyora with Will's collar gasped in her hand, and she almost threw him down the stairs, but resorted to dragging him down the flight and shoving him out the front door. As she slammed it behind him, she glared at Lori. Then she swiped her book out of her hands, went up the stairs and into the guest bedroom. As Lori saw her disappear, she simply shook her head. "He's gone, don't worry, never cry," she said to herself. "We'll never have those nightmares again..." 


	3. And a Nightmare Reborn

Fyora was in her pajama shirt and comfy silk boxers when she hopped into bed and pulled the covers on top of her. She situated herself before taking one last, long look at the tattered book in her hands. "Maybe Lori's right," she admitted reluctantly. "Maybe this is all a work of fiction never to be given life..." She set the book down and turned out the light. She buried herself underneath the soft, down quilt upon the bed.  
  
"But then again," she thought to herself before falling asleep.  
  
In a moment that seemed like only a few minutes (though technically it had been a few hours), Fyora began her REM. She was starting to dream, and she dreamt herself falling down a dark tunnel that seemed to last forever. Down down, farther and farther she tumbled into the black abyss. She ended up landing on her feet in a dark room, and it was almost as if she hadn't taken a plummet at all.  
  
She turned on the dim fluorescent light on the ceiling and looked around. All that was in the room was a bed, a chair, and a nightstand. The room was completely white, everything from the walls to the sheets were bright bleached white. She slowly walked over to the window made of tempered glass and looked out. Wherever she was, she was on the sixth floor of some building. She left the room, curious to find out where she was.  
  
She started down the hall and noticed many other rooms, completely identical to the one she had just been in. And of course, the white. Her bare feet stepped across the cold, hard tile floor until she came to a carpeted area at the end of the hall. She walked into an elevator and pushed the button for the first floor.  
  
As soon as the elevator doors shut, they opened again as if this was the fastest elevator in history. She stepped out to find more rooms of the same white simplicity. For the first time, a thought came to her, "Where am I?" She continued down the hall until she came to a room that was different from the others. It was more like an office with large file cabinets, papers and books strewn about, and a big desk in the corner. But, as always, it was completely white.  
  
She walked out and saw a set of glass double-doors at the end of the hall. "The way out?" she presumed as the saw street lights shining and cars parked just outside. "It's the middle of the night, and still I see cars," she thought. "How odd. Obviously, I must be in a place where you're never allowed to leave." She picked up the pace and jogged to the doors. She pulled the handles, but they were locked.  
  
Then a different color caught her eye and she turned around. Where the hall had been, disappearing into the darkness was a wall that made an abrupt stop. On the wall, which was still white was an ugly brown door with a red light coming from underneath it. Fyora hadn't been able to explain anything else she had seen, so she thought it a good idea to go through that troublesome-looking door. As she creaked it open, a sudden blast of warm air rushed past her and she began down the long staircase of metal steps.  
  
When she finally reached the bottom, she walked on until she came to another solid brick wall. This room was anything but white. "The is nonsense," she thought. "I'm walking with no idea where I am." Then she tried to figure out where she was. It looked like an old boiler room, for steam was being produced and the dark lights were still on. But and even more curious thought roamed her mind, "The engine's on, but nobody's steering the wheel..."  
  
A sudden burst of steam made her jump until he came to her final conclusion, "This place is really giving me the creeps, I'm outta here..." Just then, a high-pitched noise sounded from behind her. She turned around, her face now beginning to sweat, so see what had made that horrible sound. But there was nothing there.  
  
She swallowed a lump in her throat and quietly began walking back in the direction she came from. Then, a fearful feeling came upon her, the room as to huge, she couldn't figure out where she came from. Suddenly, there came another screech of metal-on-metal and she whirled around again. This time, the sound came from up high, and her attention was focused on the catwalk encircling one of the boilers.  
  
She began to shake with a fear of the unknown, and decided not to take any more chances. She began to walk backwards, making sure her eyes were fixated on the direction of the sound. Slowly she backed up until she came to a stop. There she waited and listened. There was no sound. The sighed in relief and turned around.  
  
She let out a deafening scream when she found herself face-to-face with a monster. She didn't take much time to analyze him, but backed up quickly and began to run. She speeded through the maze of halls and corridors, and occasionally looked back to see if he was still on her trail. As she was not watching where she was going, she tripped over a steel pipe and flew over a guardrail. At the last second, she grabbed hold of the floor just before she was sent freefalling down two flights of stairs.  
  
She didn't have enough arm power to pull herself up, so she just dangled there for a while. She was afraid of how much it would hurt if she let go, but also terrified of the man that had confronted her only moments ago. She tried to heave herself up, but to no avail. The racket she was making was only deadened by the loud footsteps she was hearing. They were getting louder as they neared her.  
  
She was silent as she saw a shadowy figure appear out of the steam. There he was, the same man she had seen earlier that had tried to drown her in the tub. He had severely burned skin on his face surrounding two bloodshot eyes. A dirty red and green sweater covered his upper half and he had an ingenious little device on his right hand. It was an old, tattered, brown glove with four long, sharp blades protruding from the fingers. He was the most fearsome sight she had ever seen, and he was coming closer, all the while scraping those irritating blades along the guardrail.  
  
Her breathing became very shallow and her eyes grew wide as he stopped right above her and kneeled down. A sadistic smile came across his face as he stared at Fyora's terrified eyes. "Well well," he said. "What have we here? No doubt another brain-dead teenager that beckons me to end their miserable life once again."  
  
Fyora hung on to the floor as best she cloud, but felt herself slipping. She desperately tried to keep herself up. She looked at the man and tried to look into his mind, but to her great surprise, she couldn't. "Here," the man said as he watched the poor girl. "Let me give you a... HAND!!" He yelled as he took his right hand and dug the claws deep into her own hands. She screamed and let go of the floor. She landed on the top step with a thud and rolled down the stairs, each time her body hit, a loud clang would sound. She tumbled down about two dozen steps before she ended up at the bottom.  
  
She was barely conscious as her body was bruised all over and blood was trickling out of the corner of her mouth. "Watch that first step!" the man called out to her. "It's a doozy!" He let out a cynical laugh and jumped off the catwalk, he landed next to her on his feet. All she could do was lay on the floor, unable to get to her feet. She let out a painful groan and rolled onto her side. He leaned down and grabbed the collar of her shirt. He lifted her up to a sitting position before slashing her face directly between her eye and her nose. She awoke with a start now that she was at the mercy of a ruthless dream demon. Her eyes grew wide and she began to whimper.  
  
"So," he began, and all she could do was listen. "You're the one who found my book."  
  
Fyora did the best she could to speak, for blood was flooding her throat. "You..." she moaned. "You're... the Springwood Slasher?"  
  
"In the flesh," he said, "Well, sort of," he let out a short laugh. "But you can call me what everyone else calls me."  
  
"Freddy?" she said.  
  
"Ooh, I love it coming from you," he moaned and looked into her fearful eyes. "Say it again, say my name again, bitch." He leaned in quickly and planted his lips upon her own and gave her a kiss. She was thrashing about, trying to scream, but it was a bit difficult with his tongue in her mouth. When he leaned back again, his mouth was full of her own blood.  
  
Tears flowed freely from Fyora's tired eyes. "Go ahead then," she whimpered. "Do what you're going to do. Just get it over with." There was no answer. Fyora leaned up and slanted her eyes. She said in a deep voice, "Kill me, you motherfucker." She fainted and fell back on the floor.  
  
Freddy let go of her shirt and stood up. He was so tempted to kill her right then and there, but his conscience stopped him. "No," he said, "Not just yet. I swore that whoever found the book would be the one to disperse the fear." He looked down at her lifeless body. "And who better to spread my plague than a naïve little girl..."  
  
In the hours that seemed like an eternity, Fyora no longer dreamed. The next morning, while it was still dark outside, she woke up and rubbed her eyes. "What a horrible nightmare," she said to herself. "Thank god that's all it was..." But she took back her words when she saw her t-shirt stained with blood. She gasped as she saw all of the little bruises on her legs and arms. She licked her hand and saw that her mouth was still dripping the crimson liquid. She let out a blood-curdling scream.  
  
Lori and Will climbed up the stairs and went to Fyora's room. Lori knocked loudly on the door "Fyora? FYORA!! Are you all right?" she yelled.  
  
"Lori, help me!" she screamed.  
  
Lori tried the doorknob, but it was locked. "Will!" she said, and her boyfriend took over. She slammed his body against the door and tried to break it down. "Hold on, we're coming in to get you!" Lori called out to her. "Hurry up!" she rushed him and began pounding on the door. Seconds later, with a mighty shove, the door burst open. Lori rushed over to Fyora, who sitting up in bed, freaking out over all the blood.  
  
"What happened?" Will demanded.  
  
"It was him, Lori, I saw him! He was in my dream and he tried to kill me!" Fyora shrieked.  
  
"Calm down," Lori reassured her. "It was just a dream, who did you see?"  
  
"Freddy Krueger..." Fyora said calmly. "He's going to get me, Lori. It's all my fault... I shouldn't have gotten mixed up with him, I'm sorry." She began to cry. "I'm scared, Lori, I know I'm going to die!" She leaned her face on Lori's shoulder and cried. Lori put her arms around her and hushed her.  
  
"It's going to be all right. You're safe now, we just need to get you cleaned up," Lori looked up at Will. "Go get my first-aid kit out of the bathroom."  
  
"Wait," he questioned, "Shouldn't we call the hospital and get her an ambulance? Her injuries could be more serious than we can see."  
  
"Will," Lori said in a severe tone and looked him dead in the eyes. She shook her head "no" in a distinct manner that was only know by him. He suddenly remembered why. Lori doesn't want the fear to spread. If the hospital knew who did this, it would only be a matter of time before the entire town knew what was going on. Will and Lori were the only ones who knew what gave him his power, and they were the only ones who were not afraid of him. Lori's only concern now was keeping her friends safe from that monster. Will left the room to get the kit.  
  
Later that day when Fyora was feeling better, she got dressed, left her room and went downstairs. She found Lori and Will just sitting there. They looked like they had been talking about something important before she came down, for now they were just staring at her. "What's wrong?" Fyora asked them.  
  
"Nothing," Lori lied and Fyora knew it. "Nothing's wrong. Will and I were just talking about your unusual dreaming. We think that you need to get to sleep earlier and stop drinking from that bottle that you always carry around."  
  
"I'm sorry if I can't sleep, and my rum calms me," Fyora explained. "And it wasn't that, that had nothing to do with my dream. It was all him, Lori, it was all Krueger's fault."  
  
"I don't want to hear you talk like that." Lori said, "Listen to me, Krueger was an evil man, we all agree on that. But he can't harm us anymore. We've already been through this. He is dead... that's all there is to it."  
  
"There must be more," Fyora countered. "Either you're not telling me something, or you're just fooling yourselves. I know what I saw, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you or your tight-ass boyfriend tell me otherwise." She grabbed her knapsack and headed towards the door. "You can't keep something like this a secret for long," she added briefly before leaving. 


	4. Time to Die

Fyora entered her small apartment and looked around. It was a far cry from the elegance of Lori's house on Elm Street, but it was home nonetheless. She dropped her knapsack on the couch and was greeted by her pet Rottweiler. She smiled as she patted him on the head, "Hey, Ripper, were you good while mommy was gone? Of course you were 'cause you're a good doggy! That's my wonderful, sweet, little boy!" she praised him, scratching him behind his ears. She never seemed to care that it was a little weird baby talking to a full-grown male rottie named Ripper...  
  
"And now," she said as she picked up her telephone. "Mommy has to make a few calls." She knew if she actually thought about it, she wasn't talking to her dog at all. She was merely talking to herself, with the dog as an excuse for speaking out loud. She never had a boyfriend, never had any guys in her apartment. She thought Ripper was a perfect companion, and had no need for any man in her life. Often times she thought to herself, "He never argues, he always listens, and he'd risk his life if I was in danger. Yup, he's definitely the perfect guy."  
  
She dialed the phone and waited a few moments for an answer. She plopped down on the couch and petted her dog once again. Another one of her friends, Jill, picked up on the other side. "Hello?" she asked.  
  
"Hey, Jill, it's Fyora."  
  
"Oh, hi, what's up?"  
  
"Nothing much, except I had a really bad dream last night."  
  
"Really? About what?"  
  
"I dreamed someone was trying to kill me."  
  
"Whoa, who was it?"  
  
"I don't really know who he is, but his name's Freddy Krueger."  
  
"Hm, I don't know him..."  
  
"That's because he's been dead for years. Long before we moved here."  
  
"What's this really about? Are you scared or something?"  
  
"Well, kind of..."  
  
"You do realize that it was just a dream, right?"  
  
"I know, but something strange happened last night. It was worse than any other nightmare I've ever had. It seemed so real."  
  
"Yeah, dreams usually do. Are you high?"  
  
"No!" Fyora responded. "It's not like that, I mean, this was really real. I dreamt that I fell down these metal stairs and got all battered, and there were bruises on my body and I was bleeding out of my mouth. I swear, it was so freaky."  
  
Jill seemed to be getting a little annoyed, "It's still a dream, Fye, you're okay now, right? None of our dreams ever came true, and you know it."  
  
"I'm trying to explain, it didn't just seem real, it WAS real! I woke up this morning and there was blood everywhere—"  
  
"Whoa there, too much information!"  
  
"It wasn't that, you sicko! It was blood from wounds in my mouth, and it was all over my shirt. I had all of these bruises on my legs and arms, and listen, I think something really weird is going on. Just do me a favor and call Carey. She'll want to know about this, too. Call and warn anyone you can that there may be a murderer on the loose in Springwood. I'm going to call Shanna and Lauren."  
  
"I think you're freaking out for no reason..."  
  
"Please, Jill, just do it. I just need to make sure that everyone knows so they can stay safe. There's no telling what could happen next..."  
  
"Oh, all right. I'll get Brittany to call her friends too, but hey, you owe me big time."  
  
"Okay, I'll make a mental note of it. Bye, Jill."  
  
"Take care, Fye, and try not to worry, okay?"  
  
"K, see you later." Fyora hung up the phone and called Shanna.  
  
In a span of the next few days, a phone tree began that sprung all across the town. Friends were calling their friends, warning them about a Freddy Krueger. Some people knew who he was, others had no clue, but one thing was for sure. One madman got exactly what he wanted. Terror began to spread from teenagers to adults, and soon to little children. People began safeguarding their homes. Everyone was suspicious, and it seemed there was no sense of humor anymore. It was all seriousness and everywhere you went, signs of fear were imminent.  
  
It wasn't until later in the week when the message finally reached a certain house on Elm Street.  
  
Fyora was busily putting dishes in the dishwasher when her phone rang. She wiped off her hands and answered it. "Hello?" she asked.  
  
"Fyora, it's Lori," and it was. "Come to my house immediately," she said.  
  
"Why?" Fyora asked. "What's up?"  
  
"We need to talk..."  
  
So now we come to a familiar place yet again. Fyora, sitting on Lori's couch, a bottle of rum in one hand, was simply staring across the room at Lori. Her knapsack was full of odds and ends upstairs, and she was ready to spend another Saturday night at her best friend's house. Lori sat on an easy chair, simply staring back at Fyora. They sat perfectly still, in silence.  
  
"Fine, whatever you say," Lori said slowly.  
  
Fyora flew up off the couch and pointed and angry finger at Lori. "This is bullshit!" she yelled. "Where the hell do you get off telling me what I'm supposed to believe? You weren't there, Lori, you don't know what I saw!"  
  
"I've been there, I remember exactly how I felt..." Lori said in the same monotone voice. "You have no right to be angry at me, I'm only trying to protect you, dear."  
  
"Protect me from what?" Fyora yelled yet again. She rolled her eyes and paced quickly from one side of the room to the other. "I can't believe this... why—" she began to say, but stopped to think some more.  
  
"All I'm asking you to do is to stay here with me until things settle down, that's all." Lori requested. "Listen, Will and I will get everything sorted out, but until then, I want you to stay here. I'll have Will bring Ripper over and you can both live with me for a few weeks. Won't that be fun?"  
  
"It's not fun when you're forced to live in a prison." But she did amuse herself for a few moments imagining the look on Will's face when her entered her apartment, only to have Ripper bite his balls off.  
  
"It's by no means a prison."  
  
"Confinement comes in many forms, Lori," she aid, turning serious again.  
  
"Please, Fyora, just consider."  
  
Fyora stood there for a few moments, looking at Lori's expressionless face. She then looked past her face, into her mind, to find something even more surprising. Lori was worried about her, yes, but another feeling lingered within her tormented brain... fear. It was very strong, making Fyora wonder if maybe this fear clouded her judgment. She cared a lot about Lori, and after all, they were best friends. She only wanted what was right for her, even if it was keeping her in her own house under 24-hour surveillance.  
  
"I guess it wouldn't be that bad," Fyora said slowly. "All right, I'll stay, but only for you. Just one thing, though. Please keep Will out of the house when I'm awake, you know how we don't get along..."  
  
"It's a deal," Lori smiled and got up off her chair. She went over to Fyora and gave her a big hug. "I swear you won't regret this."  
  
After a few moments, Fyora pulled back. With a soft smile she said, "Now, I'm really tired. It's been a long week, and I really think I should get to bed." The happiness on Lori's face disappeared almost instantly, and a severe look of worry replaced it. "If you want, you can come up watch over me until I fall asleep. I promise nothing bad will happen, but if you insist..."  
  
"Sure," Lori replied. "That's a good idea. I just want to make sure you're safe..."  
  
Some time later, Fyora hopped into bed and turned out the light. Lori sat on a nearby chair, keeping an eye on her every move. It didn't take long, because Fyora fell asleep almost instantly. Lori sat there for a long time, struggling to keeps her eyes open as the minutes passed. She glanced at the clock; it was well past midnight. She felt her eyes getting heavier by the second, and she felt herself dozing off.  
  
"Am I still asleep?" Fyora had the nerve to ask when she found herself standing out on Lori's front lawn. Her bare feet walked across the cool grass before stepping out onto the driveway and walking down to the street. She put her hands on her hips and looked around. It was very dark outside, for none of the lights in any house were on. If it weren't for the dim streetlights offering some sparse illumination, she wouldn't even know where she was.  
  
She began walking down the sidewalk at a normal pace when she stopped as she saw something rustling in the bushes ahead. After a few moments, the movement stopped. Suddenly, she saw a small girl in a white dress appear out of the bushes and walk to the street corner. She stopped and turned around, looking in Fyora's direction. "Do you want to play?" she called in a soft voice, but because there was no other sound around, Fyora heard her clearly.  
  
Fyora smiled, "Sure!" she replied happily.  
  
"Come on then," she little girl said. "Follow me." And she began walking away into the darkness. She disappeared as soon as the streetlight no longer beamed down upon her.  
  
The smile disappeared from Fyora's curious face. "Wait," she called out. "Wait for me!" And she took off after the little girl. Once or twice she heard the echoing of the youngster's voice in her head, "Hurry up," and a chorus of "follow me." Fyora came to the street corner and stopped. She strained her eyes into the darkness, but could see the little girl nowhere. "Where are you?" she called.  
  
"Come closer," said a voice, but it sounded nothing like the little girl's. Instead it was rough, coarse, and deep. Fyora stood as still as a tree, her wide eyes peering into the blackness. She bore no expression on her face. It was almost as if she was hypnotized. She put one foot forward, then slowly the other, and soon was stepping at a steady pace. In she went into the darkness, until all was black around her.  
  
Suddenly, she saw a bright light ahead that nearly blinded her. She shrunk back and covered her eyes from the glowing beam that was colored brilliantly white. Then the light faded and turned a dim red. Uncovered her eyes and looked out. To her horror, she was back in a familiar place, a deadly place, the old abandoned boiler room. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. "Oh g-god!" she stuttered, "I-if I'm back here that means..."  
  
"I'm always here," a voice came from behind her. She whirled around and before she knew what had happened, she felt a crack, and an unbearable pain in her stomach. She looked forward to see him, Freddy Krueger standing there with a smirk on his face.  
  
"You!" Fyora yelled and tried to step forward, but the pain in her stomach grew stronger. She gagged and could barely breathe. She reluctantly looked down. Freddy's right hand was buried in her stomach, and along with it, the four blades. Her eyes grew wide as blood began spurting out of her mouth. She coughed and choked and gently touched her hand to her stomach. She pulled it up, and it was covered with that dreaded crimson liquid. She looked up at Krueger in amazement.  
  
"You have served your purpose now," he said to her, the arrogant smirk never once leaving his face. He roughly pulled out his hand from Fyora's insides, shredding them up even more. Fyora was jerked forward and began losing her balance. She fell to her knees and witnessed the sheer horror of a red river slowly spilling out of her body.  
  
Meanwhile, Lori jumped out of her chair, her eyes widening as she saw Fyora going into convulsions. She tore off her sheets and let out a screech of terror when she saw the amounts of blood jumping out of her body. "FYORA!!" she screamed. She grabbed the phone and called 911.  
  
An ambulance came 10 minutes later and rushed Fyora to the hospital. Amazingly she was still alive as they stuck many IV needles into her arms and bandaged her as best as they could. As she was wheeled in the ER, everyone who was crowding around her applied pressure to prevent as much blood as they could from leaving her body.  
  
In the dank boiler room, Fyora was crying, laying on the floor in a fetal position, watching her vital fluid stream through the grates and leak out onto the floor beneath them. Freddy was standing above her, encircling her like a vulture, waiting for its quarry to die. "It was all too easy," he said aloud, adding insult to injury. "I knew someone would find the book sooner of later, and when they did, hoo boy," he laughed. "I'm just glad it was found by someone so stupid, so naïve, so... cute."  
  
He leaned down and brushed her hair out of her tear-stained face. "Aww," he said. "I almost feel sorry for you." He took the blade on his pointer- finger and traced the wound he had given her during their previous meeting. Then he slashed it open, causing her to yelp in pain. "Almost..."  
  
Back in the ER, the doctor was busily working on repairing the broken tissue in her stomach, but she was hemorrhaging, and constantly being flushed with water. "We're running out of IV's, get me some more, now! Her vitals are dropping... come one people, move it or we're going to lose her!" he yelled, desperately trying to patch her up. Suddenly, her heart stopped...  
  
"And now," Freddy said, leaning close to her face and speaking in a whisper, "It's time to die..." He pulled back and put a blade to her bust. With a yell, he drove the blade deep into her chest, and she fainted.  
  
"No!" the doctor yelled as his desperate attempts at bringing her back to life were impossible. She had died, right then and there, in the emergency room. Lori broke from the grip of the security crew trying to hold her back. She burst through the door and ran up to Fyora. She glanced to her heart monitor, but all she saw was a straight line.  
  
"No..." Lori said in a hushed tone, unable to believe what had just happened. The entire room fell silent, and only the sound of the constant beep of the heart monitor was heard. The medical team that was rushing as fast as they could 10 minutes ago had now stopped completely. The doctor came up to her and put his arm on her shoulder. "She's gone. There was nothing we could do..." Lori collapsed to Fyora's bedside and let out a blood-curdling shriek.  
  
"Sweet dreams, princess," Freddy muttered. 


	5. Witness to the Underworld

Fyora slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the sky overhead. There was an endless sheet of dark clouds that spanned across the sky. She pushed herself up off the ground and shook her head. "Ow," she said as she put her palm up to her forehead. "What a night..." She looked up and saw that she was sitting on a huge boulder in the middle of a deserted plain. Long, dark green grass flowed like waves in the gusty wind. Her hair blew into her face as she stood up from her resting point on the rock to survey her surroundings. All she could see, as far as the eyes can see, was the field and the clouds... nothing else.  
  
She felt a chill on her legs and looked down at an ensemble she didn't even remember owning. She was dressing in a long, flowing black dress with a wide satin sash wrapped around her waist. Her sleeves were long and puffy, and the rest of the dress was very loosely fitted. Ignoring what she was wearing, she looked out again, but nothing had changed. She and the rock were the only things for miles.  
  
Fyora put her hands on her hips. "Where am I?" she asked aloud. "Wait a minute," she pondered. "Aren't I dead? I'm pretty sure I am... but what is this place? It's neither comforting nor alarming, so I can't tell whether this is the kingdom above... or the other place."  
  
"Well, dear, you're certainly not in heaven," came a voice. It was rather odd though, for she could not tell which direction she was coming from. It was simply a voice, distinguishable as neither a man's nor a woman's, neither soft nor loud, neither near nor far away. "Where do you believe you deserve to be?" it asked.  
  
Fyora thought for a moment before coming up with her heart's true answer. "I have committed many sins in the years I was living. I deserve to spend an eternity in hell."  
  
"You're the first one in a thousand years to admit it," the voice said. "You're an honest soul, I'll give you that."  
  
"Who are you?" Fyora questioned. "And where am I?"  
  
"Why? Don't you know yet? I'll give you a hint..."  
  
Suddenly, the earth beneath Fyora began to tremble. She fell on her hands and knees as not to be knocked over. The shaking grew even more violent as a gigantic fault cracked it's way across the field. The once grassy plain disappeared beneath a sea of boiling red lava. She gasped held on as best she could to the rock as the molten rock began to swallow the boulder she stood upon. "Stop!" she cried. At once, the lava calmed and evaporated and her small refuge was not claimed after all.  
  
Fyora's breath became faster, "Sweet Jesus," she said softly. "Am I in Hell?"  
  
"Try purgatory," the voice sounded once again.  
  
"Purgatory?" Fyora echoed. "Do you mean I'm not dead?"  
  
"Well, not exactly," the voice explained. "Allow me to introduce myself..." There was another sudden gust of wind and a man appeared before her. He stood nearly a foot taller than her in an AC~DC t-shirt and faded blue jeans. He took Fyora's hand and helped her to her feet. She was just looking at him with an confused look on her face. "I am the Devil," he stated.  
  
"The Devil?" Fyora sounded, as she didn't believe him. "Sure, whatever you say... If you're the Devil, then where are your horns? What about your goat legs? Why don't you have a tail?"  
  
"Don't always believe what you see. I'm actually the embodiment of evil, your depiction of what I could look like. I've chosen the form of the guy you had a crush on in he 7th grade... Speaking of which, have you ever seen the movie 'Bedazzled?'" he asked.  
  
Fyora immediately shut up. "Oh yeah, I forgot," she said sheepishly. "You can come in any form. Never mind then... can I call you Lucifer? I've always liked that name."  
  
"Call me whatever you want, I'm not here for small talk," he said seriously. "I'm here to settle a bit of business."  
  
"Business?" she asked reluctantly. "What kind of business?"  
  
"You already know," he said and moved closer into her terrified face. "Okay," he said slowly. "Here's the deal. Technically, you're not completely dead, very close, but not there just yet. You're heart stopped for a while but that's it. Now, I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say you belong in hell, correct?"  
  
"Sure, why not," Fyora said as she swung her arms from side to side. "After all that's happened, I'm willing to believe anything."  
  
"You're not being honest," he said. "There are some that think you should be damned. Others think you have a pure enough heart to get to heaven. It's not really my choice or anybody else's... it's yours. You have the power to walk into the darkness or the light."  
  
"I've heard this a million times," Fyora replied.  
  
"Well then, you know all about it," he paused for a minute or so. "But tell me something, what's the most important thing on earth to you? Was there anything or anyone worth living for back there?"  
  
Fyora looked down. "Lori, she is my best friend... my only real friend. It was through her that I met all of the wonderful people I know today. She was the only one who didn't treat me like a freak. After my previous experiences, it was quite a comfort."  
  
"You know how you died, of course," he mentioned.  
  
"Naturally, how could I forget? It was that fucking Krueger... god damned bastard killed me in my sleep. I thought he'd have no use for me, I thought he'd leave me alone. But that didn't exactly turn out the way I planned."  
  
"Most things don't," he stated. "Especially when Krueger's thrown into the mix. I suspect right now that he's moved onto bigger things. Even as we speak he's probably after that Lori girl you were telling me about."  
  
A sudden look of shock and terror spread across Fyora's face. "No," she said in a whisper. "Not Lori!"  
  
"Most likely," he said coolly, trying to make her freak out.  
  
She felt a sudden pain come into her heart before breaking out into tears and falling to her knees on the boulder. "She's my best friend, he can't do anything to her! I promised her everything would be fine, but I've failed her... I won't let him hurt her! I—" She stifled back her sadness for a split second before looking up at Lucifer. "You..." she said hopefully. "You can help me, right? I mean, you're the ruler of all hell, there must be something you can do!"  
  
"Oh yes, you're right!" he said, raising a finger to his chin. "Come to think of it, there may just be something I can do to save you're friend and spare your own life. After all, I am the Devil."  
  
Fyora smiled, "That's right! Uh... um... tell me what to do, whatever it is that will restore me, I'll do it! I have to get back to my life and protect my friend from that monster." She kneeled at his feet and tugged at his shirt. "Please, I'll do anything!"  
  
"Anything?" he echoed her voice. Unknown to Fyora, Lucifer was ecstatic. His plan to steal her soul was going better than planned. Now that she had resorted to doing anything, it was all too easy for him. "Okay, I'll tell you what," once again he helped her up. "I will bring you back to life so that you can face him in one final showdown. I'm being generous today, so I'll also grant you the gift of immortality... for a short time. You'll have everything you need to fight Krueger plus an invulnerable advantage."  
  
"Oh my god," Fyora said, amazed. "This is too good to be true! This is my second chance, one last time to redeem myself..." The smile from her face disappeared. "Wait a second... what's the catch?"  
  
"Catch?" he laughed out loud. "My dear girl, there is no catch. Consider this opportunity a welcome home present from a good friend!" Fyora cheered and hopped up and down like a maniac before she was stopped by him again. "But..."  
  
"But? What but?" she asked.  
  
"There is one little, tiny favor that you could do for me. All I ask in return is that you pledge your soul to me for all of eternity."  
  
"Uh..." Fyora was dumbfounded. "My soul? Isn't that kind of a big favor?"  
  
"Oh, you don't need it," he said, putting his arm around her. "After all, it's coming here anyway... so why not get something in return? Besides, your soul hardly matters to you if you're immortal."  
  
"I guess you have a point," she agreed with him. She stood in deep thought for a few more moments before snapping her fingers. "All right, I'll do it!"  
  
"Excellent," Lucifer said, being quite pleased with himself. "Then there's nothing left to say. You know what you're supposed to do. But once Krueger is dead, your immortality is taken away and you end up back here. Do we have a deal?" he asked and outstretched his hand to make it official.  
  
Fyora slowly moved her own hand forward and placed it in his. She gently shook it, signifying her pledge. "Deal," she replied.  
  
"Perfect," he hissed as a snake of fire slithered out of his mouth. It slinked down his arm, making the entire area glow with an eerie orange light. Once it reached where their hands met, it drew it's slender head back, and struck forward. It sunk its fangs into Fyora's hand...  
  
She clenched her eyes tight and screamed as a torrent of painful venom engulfed her body and ran through her veins. She felt her body burning and shrieked at the top of her lungs. When she ran out of breath, her screaming stopped and eventually, so did the pain. When she felt nothing more, she opened her eyes.  
  
She was staring up at a long fluorescent light fixture embedded in the ceiling of a white room. As her eyes came into focus, she soon saw other figures standing around her. There were various men and women encircling her, all dressed in smocks and scrubs. One figure was more colorful and stood out from the rest. That was when she saw her again...  
  
She saw Lori...  
  
And it was the single most happy moment of her life.  
  
...To be continued. 


End file.
